Consumerism Ties with Religion
Shannon Akers
English 104
Mr. Martin
1 April 2013
Analysis
Going back to the Great Depression, over more than 70 years ago, consumerism has had its’ ties with religion. Millions of people were desperate because of the loss of their position in the work force as the same people were robbed of their whole life savings because of the stock market crash. The church membership began to decline as people saw no hopes for their social and economic life. According to Anthony Robinson in the Articles of Faith: Consumerism is a Greedy Society’s Religion, “The subtext of cultural change in the past 30 years has been the way the way the market has seeped into every sector of life and come to define how we think of who we are and what we do. We are consumers, feeding the great insatiable maw of the consumer economy.” He states that religion and consumerism are easily tied together because of the heavy involvement that citizens partake with both. He considers religion characterized by some vision of a good life, by their rituals and by a particular language. However, what can determine a “good” life? Is life good when a person is surrounded by an encouraging social body? Or when a person is considered in a higher order economic stance? Robinson’s choice of describing life as “good” is too broad and vague because it can be interpreted in many different ways.
It is inferred in Robinson’s article that the most noticeable ties that religion has made with consumerism are the holidays. Every holiday has been swallowed by the thought of the obligation to buy gifts. The values of Thanksgiving are often masked by the excitement of black Friday shopping. The number one holiday for gifts is Christmas, and also is one of the most important for religion as well. How often do people miss the true meaning of Christmas because of all the hosh-kosh about the gifts? Consumerism in itself is a challenge. “One must be in a constant state of anxiety about keeping up, having the newest
English 104
Mr. Martin
1 April 2013
Analysis
Going back to the Great Depression, over more than 70 years ago, consumerism has had its’ ties with religion. Millions of people were desperate because of the loss of their position in the work force as the same people were robbed of their whole life savings because of the stock market crash. The church membership began to decline as people saw no hopes for their social and economic life. According to Anthony Robinson in the Articles of Faith: Consumerism is a Greedy Society’s Religion, “The subtext of cultural change in the past 30 years has been the way the way the market has seeped into every sector of life and come to define how we think of who we are and what we do. We are consumers, feeding the great insatiable maw of the consumer economy.” He states that religion and consumerism are easily tied together because of the heavy involvement that citizens partake with both. He considers religion characterized by some vision of a good life, by their rituals and by a particular language. However, what can determine a “good” life? Is life good when a person is surrounded by an encouraging social body? Or when a person is considered in a higher order economic stance? Robinson’s choice of describing life as “good” is too broad and vague because it can be interpreted in many different ways.
It is inferred in Robinson’s article that the most noticeable ties that religion has made with consumerism are the holidays. Every holiday has been swallowed by the thought of the obligation to buy gifts. The values of Thanksgiving are often masked by the excitement of black Friday shopping. The number one holiday for gifts is Christmas, and also is one of the most important for religion as well. How often do people miss the true meaning of Christmas because of all the hosh-kosh about the gifts? Consumerism in itself is a challenge. “One must be in a constant state of anxiety about keeping up, having the newest